Features Whats the dumbest thing you ever did to your vehicle while working on it?

Installing a set of mechanical gauges and a couple other upgrades at the same time. Ran the oil line into the dash but not connected to the gauge yet. Started the motor to complete something else...guess where the oil shot to

 

One time I was working on my nova,putting on a set of 461 heads that I had.I was working on it late and had it all back together just about ready to fire it up,and knocked a stupid wrench off the radiator shroud down on the radiator and knocked A hole in it.

 

I had just got my '40 body back from paint, after getting the body mounted back on the chassis I decided I would put the doors on so I could check door alignment and adjust body mounts if needed. I got the pass door in place and with my trustee new little ball peen hammer (I just smartly purchased at a garage sale down the street for a bargain price) I gave a nice sharp blow to the hinge pin. Upon impact the trustee new ball peen hammer head came off the handle and flew straight up in the air and had the end over end action of a perfect footbal kick. It flew in a near verticle trajectory and came down landing squrely on the right A-Pillar leaving a perfect ball peen shaped ding and a chip in the 2 day old paint that went down to bare metal. Well at least I got that first scratch, chip, dent thing out of the way.

 

Some funny stuff here

 

Changing oil lines on my daily reminds me how when I did it on my other van I started it up without hooking one up, I was so glad to be done underneath the thing I'd forgotten to hook it on the radiator end. Didn't hurt anything but it was a big mess to clean up.

IIRC that was the job I sawzalled out a hunk of fan shroud to make room and still clipped and wrecked the radiator. Also a big mess to clean up, at least I already had a spare.

With my current daily the biggest mistake was probably buying it. Not that it's been terrible, it's just old and worn.

 

Locked myself in the trunk while adjusting the hinges during reassembly after new paint job. Now I sleep with a night light.


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I broke the original to the truck ezi shaded windshield in my 56 GMC while installing a new seal. Pissed me off so bad I left in the middle of the shop floor so I had to trip over it for a week, to remind myself of what a fuckin idiot I am...

 

I dropped a spray bomb can of under coating while walking into the garage...of course it hit the sharp corner of the floor jack...punched a hole in the can it spun around spraying everything, including the front of my wife's car in the drive way, the back and quarter panel of the car in the garage I was working on, the air compressor, some cabinets, the wall......
By the time I got it cleaned off the wife's car the rest of it was pretty much dried.
Chappy

 

About 17 years ago, at work, I had to follow another mechanic and had to finish putting an air filter tube back on a Cummins turbo diesel. I failed to notice the shop towel that he had stuffed into the tube to keep shit from falling into it. I put everything together, took it for a test drive and suddenly it lost power. I limped it back to the shop and found the remnants of the towel stuck in the turbo. Somehow the turbo wasn’t hurt, but I spent some time cleaning up that mess.
Several years ago, one of the second shift guys installed a new turbo on a 7.3 Ford pickup. They road tested it and it ran strong for just a few minutes, then it lost power too, this guy didn’t bother to remove the magnet from the bottom of the new turbo that covered the oil supply and return ports before he bolted the turbo down. The turbo seized up tighter than the bark on a tree. He didn’t last much longer after that.


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Being 20 I haven't done anything crazy stupid yet but I'm sure with a few more years, it'll happen lol.. I put the cable backwards on my battery once... the magic smoke made me realize real quick. Now I can't pull my key out in "off". I have to turn it back to "lock"


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Wow Thanks for sharing better to be lucky and Alive. Bet it was secured next time around!

 

I had a 54 Dodge truck. I was redoing the dash, and Dodge thought it was a brilliant idea to install a wiper switch right in the center of that perfect dash. I removed the switch, welded the hole shut, and was sanding the filler to make the dash smooth. For some reason, I thought that my air file would smooth the filler faster and better that any other method I had available. I was doing really well until I moved the air file too close to the windshield. The end of the air file made one small contact with the perfect windshield. It sent a crack in the glass right up the center! That was the day I found out that windshield was pretty difficult to find. At the time new windshields were not available and used ones were going for more then $500 + shipping (which was also quite expensive). I didn't have that kind of money then. I watched for a reasonable priced windshield, or as least one local to me, for the next 5 years I had the truck. I sold the truck with that same cracked windshield. Gene

 

I wanted to lower the front of my '47 Plymouth convert and had heard that Aerostar coils were perfect for that, so I bought a pair. I raised the car on my 2-post lift and installed the new coils. When I lowered the lift, the Plymouth sat a little lower, but not enough, so I raised the lift, removed the springs and cut half a coil off. After putting the car back on the floor, I noticed only a negligible effect on bumper height. A little frustrated, I raised the lift and removed the coils again and cut off another half coil. Only after setting the car back down on the floor did I realize that the lift arm pads were screwed out to their maximum height so the new coils weren't supporting the weight of the car at all. I jacked up the car so I could swing the lift arms out of the way and discovered that the car was now REALLY LOW and was actually sitting on the bump stops. It took another new set of Aerostat coils (uncut) to give me the ride height I was looking for in the first place.

 

Early '70's was painting my T-bucket in my garage. Wet the floor with water hose to prevent dust. Put the last coat of clear on, backed up to admire my work. Stepped on the spray nozzle on the hose which proceed to spray the whole side of the still wet paint.
As someone else mentioned, managed to drill thru a brand new radiator when the wooden dowel I was using as a drill stop split in two.
Was helping a friend tow his '65 Mustang home with a rope when his clutch crapped out. The rope came loose in the middle of a busy intersection. In my haste to get it reconnected the rope went over the front crossmember and the lower radiator hose. Pulled the bottom outlet off the radiator. He was not happy.
There were many others over the years.

 

I was so excited to take my 32 Hupmobile for a drive down my long driveway after working on it for 20 years. I put a wooden kitchen chair with sawed off legs in it, jumped in and started the engine. Drove over to the house and went to get out and get the wife. That's when I realized I hadn't put the inside door handles on yet. I could not open the doors from the inside. The horn was not hooked up yet either. I drove the car back and forth a few times to try to attract attention with no luck. It took almost an hour before she came outside to ask why I was sitting in the car for such a long time. Glad it didn't catch on fire or I would have been a goner. And I didn't fit through the windows.

 

Installed new built engine and my first auto transmission rebuild into my chevelle. Drive shaft was a bitch to get in.
Driving around proudly in the country until something let loose. Guy in his yard was watering lawn and ran to road with hose yelling it's on fire. Trans fluid hitting hot headers isn't a good thing. He professionally extinguished the fire.
Diagnosis......drive shaft too long pounding ass of tranny.

 

Oh yeah. I forgot about this one :



Did you know that a truck hemi oil pan holds eight quarts?

 

Friend called me to come over and watch him fire up the 455 Olds he had just rebuilt and shoved in his Cutlass. Lots of beer cans laying around, bad omen. Fired it up, sounded great. He reached over and gave it a quick goose, BLAM! Rod sticking out. Among the beer cans on the bench, one rod nut.

 

Thank goodness, I guess I am not the only dumb one on here after all.

 

Another friend bought a dead Camaro, wanted me to rope tow it the 20 miles of backroad home using his '64 El Camino while he manned the Camaro. Made it OK, El Camino felt kind of sluggish but heck, it was pulling the other car. Got home and he was smoking mad, smoking almost as much as the back brakes on the Elky. He has put the parking brake on, it had no dash light and since I was tugging the other car I never noticed.

 

welding on my car and set the back seat on fire...just a small one...

 

All good friendly reminders.

 

The tire size I needed for my Rambler were on a one-day sale at the local Firestone shop. All four installed for $140. My front seat was at the upholstery shop. I threw a bean bag chair in the driver's side floor and low-rider'd it down there. The guy that pulled it in the shop just laughed and said..."this is a first"

 

If you set all four wheels on ramps, dont have them all pointing the same direction, especially if you are going to work under the center of the car.

 

Oh yea
Another one
17 yrs old
Rebuilt a small block Chevy for my high school 57
Rather large cam and tunnel ram with 2 small 4's.
Sounded good for a few minutes until all the valves bent from hitting the pistons

 

Years ago I was working on a 56 Buick u-joint on a enclosed drive shaft I had the shaft housing pried back so I good get the u- joint in . As I turned the joint to line up splines the housing flew forward and trapped my fingers , I laid under the car for two hours until my wife got home . She and her sister pulled back on the rear until I got my fingers loose. They were black and blue for a long time !

 

Now that I've wiped the tears of laughter off my face, it's my turn.

"If it breaks while you're driving it, you fix it." It was an off topic '71 small block Torino and the starter went. Almost dusk and wedged in an apartment parking spot between large covered carports, I unhooked the battery cable and was underneath breaking the bolts loose when I heard suspicious sizzling noises.
Quickly wiggling back out from under the car, I discovered the passenger side of the engine was on fire! Scrambling for something -- ANYthing -- to put it out before it spread further, the only thing there was dirt. It took several handfuls before the inferno was extinguished and I was shaking like a leaf ... but the damage was pretty minor.
I had unhooked the wrong battery cable.

 

Flash forward a few years to my own also off topic '68 Barracuda. I had fallen in love with a Fox body Mustang's A-pillar gauge cluster and decided I wanted one in my Cuda. Nobody made one.
After hours of mods to the Ford style carefully cutting and molding and fiberglassing it was almost done! A little JB Weld spread on to smooth it all out, I laid it aside to set up that Sunday night with intentions to paint it black and install it the next weekend.

While backing out of the garage the next day, I ran over something.

You guessed it! Billy's damn dog had knocked my masterpiece cluster onto the floor right into the path of wheel travel.

 

Not enough thread size here to list them all, I could type all day with my learning experiences, flip side, could spend all day typing all the things I did accomplish. ANYONE who states he does not have learning experiences, #1 Full of Shit, #2 never did anything, #3 even a couch potato can fall off couch getting up/down, drop his beer on his foot.

 

I was putting a t-bird engine in my high school car and needed an engine crane.
The shop I worked at on the weekends had one and the boss let me borrow it and his truck to haul it home.
First stop sign the arm of the crane came through the back window of the truck.
Learned how to install glass Monday after school.



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